Connecterra, a Dutch start-up company and one of the leading AgTech firms worldwide, has just released a statement announcing its public support for UENL’s initiatives and concerns with the current proposal associated with the 30% tax rule.

Yasir Khokhar, CEO at Connecterra, notes: “As an international start-up company we are disappointed and deeply concerned that the proposed reduction of the 30% tax ruling for expats does not include a transition period. Without the specialized knowledge and skills of our foreign employees, Connecterra would not be able to be based in Amsterdam at all! As a startup, we’ve created new jobs for Dutch and expat workers, developed economic activity for Netherlands and have proudly advocated for Amsterdam on the global startup stage. We strongly believe that Amsterdam is a better place for startups than London, Berlin or Silicon Valley due to the entrepreneurial spirit of the Dutch and policies that the government has employed to attract innovation and talent. We respect the Dutch government’s right to change tax policies for both businesses and individuals but also believe it is only reasonable that current recipients of this tax policy are not burdened by an unexpected change. We request that the new policy is only effective moving forward and not retroactive to limit the financial consequences for our expats. The impact to the cost basis is prohibitively high for small companies with expats. This feels like changing the rules in the middle of the game and will certainly erode Amsterdam’s’ standing in the competitive space of being a place to start an innovative tech company."